Cricket

When Debbie Buenger, a former elementary school physical education teacher now at East Middle School in Westminster, introduced the game of cricket to her class one rainy afternoon last year, the excitement blew her away. "The kids absolutely loved it," Buenger said. Within the first hour, the class started to grasp the basics and was off playing its first competitive game. There were a few hitches, like remembering to hold onto the bat, but overall Buenger couldn't have been more surprised.

Peter Chen spent all of his childhood in Trinidad, playing cricket and soccer. After he came to the United States at age 19 to attend Howard University, where he helped start the men's soccer team, Chen worked as a bellboy at Columbia Country Club in nearby Chevy Chase. It was there that Chen was introduced to a new game: golf. "[Fred] 'Scotty' McLeod gave me my first set of clubs in 1949," Chen said, referring to the longtime pro at Columbia and the 1908 U.S. Open champion. "I've been hacking around since then.

It might not incite the kind of rage caused more than 200 years ago by taxation without representation, but a decision recently made in London should leave Americans hopping mad.Officials in the British capital ruled that a baseball league for resident American youths would be barred from London's spacious Hampstead Heath. The officials said the noise and the traffic resulting from the games were ruining the woodland's pristine setting, though English children engage in cricket and soccer matches nearby.

On the cricket field at the South Germantown Recreational Park on Sunday afternoon, Jamie Harrison saw his dream come true. Dozens of parents and fans gathered to watch his plan of three years finally come to fruition: two teams battle for the Maryland Youth Cricket Championship, the first such event in United States history. The event saw the Germantown Kids Cricket Club win the state title over Cockeysville Kids Cricket, 25-23, after a one-month, four-team tournament. "This is something happening in front of me that I envisioned and imagined and thought that could happen," said Harrison, the founder and president of the United States Youth Cricket Association.

Reading the article, "Some residents upset with cricket field plan," (Dec. 6) brings up a question: Who are these "incumbent users" and why do they think they have priority in using a public park? A cricket field will be usable by the diversifying ethnic population. Is it the fact that many cricket players represent that diverse population that has people upset? Is it because they don't understand the rules or have never attempted the game? I suspect so. Perhaps these people would do well to remember that five or six decades ago, soccer was virtually unknown in the U.S. In fact, soccer was brought to this country by immigrants who had played it throughout Europe.

While changing my shoes just inside the front door in preparation for walking the dog, I heard the chirping of a cricket. A soft, gentle, undemanding sound -- a pleasing end-of-summer sound. I pushed aside the newspaper I had been sneaking glances at and turned my eyes to the underside of the little stand beside the doorway where the song seemed to be coming from. But I could catch no sight of the singer.Fingers manipulated shoes and laces now without the help of mind, for my attention was elsewhere; it was on cricket song.

With the Cricket World Cup coming next month, the air is full of speculation about another Pakistan-India match. Cricket is more than a sport for Pakistanis and Indians. It is a cult followed by millions across the subcontinent with a passion inconceivable even to ardent American football and baseball fans. Devotion to cricket is synonymous with patriotism. Political leaders, media icons and the general public all join in the hysteria. Matches between the two rival cricketing nations foster incredible emotional energy.

Muttiah Muralitharan is, as far as I can tell, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Jackie Robinson all rolled into one. He's Clemens because he's regarded as perhaps the greatest of all time while still playing near his peak. He's Bonds because many in his sport regard him as a cheater. And he's Robinson because through his athletic excellence he has helped unite a violently divided nation. And I had never heard of him until Tuesday. Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan cricket star regarded by many as the greatest "bowler" of all time.

TO HER MAJESTY Queen Elizabeth II:Welcome to Baltimore, ma'am.By night's end, you will have experienced your first baseball game and, no doubt, will have some unanswered questions.Undoubtedly, you noticed the similarity between this sport and your cricket. In both a bat hits a ball and someone runs as long as he can without being touched by the ball off a base.In cricket, you run back and forth; in baseball, around a diamond, sort of like your childhood game of rounders.But in cricket, the games can go on for days and days and days.

By Susanne Trowbridge and Susanne Trowbridge,Special to The Sun | August 29, 1994

Even the most ardent Anglophiles in Elizabeth George's audience may be a bit put off when they learn that her latest mystery is a 600-page behemoth about the murder of a cricket player.Yes, cricket -- "that most elegant of games," the author rhapsodizes, but one that totally confounds most Americans. In this country, the sport's popularity probably ranks somewhere below Australian rules football and curling.Despite occasional references to bowlers, bails, golden ducks and first elevens, however, Ms. George doesn't overload "Playing for the Ashes" with cricket minutiae.

When Chirag Vani, 27, stepped onto the field for the title match at the American College Cricket national championship last month, he and the rest of the UMBC cricket club were confident. "We had won the Mid-Atlantic Regional last year, so we had momentum going forward," Vani said. "We were confident that we had a very good team this year. It wasn't really a surprise, but everything came together at the right time. " UMBC emerged victorious, defeating South Florida by five wickets in the final in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Vani, who plays wicketkeeper and batsman, hopes the growth of the national championships - from approximately 10 teams in the inaugural tournament in 2009 to 28 this year - helps the sport gain recognition.

Reading the article, "Some residents upset with cricket field plan," (Dec. 6) brings up a question: Who are these "incumbent users" and why do they think they have priority in using a public park? A cricket field will be usable by the diversifying ethnic population. Is it the fact that many cricket players represent that diverse population that has people upset? Is it because they don't understand the rules or have never attempted the game? I suspect so. Perhaps these people would do well to remember that five or six decades ago, soccer was virtually unknown in the U.S. In fact, soccer was brought to this country by immigrants who had played it throughout Europe.

Scorpion, anyone? How about silkworms and mole crickets? Corner BYOB has them on the menu, for one night only, at Tuesday night's Gastronaut Society Dinner. Bernard Dehaene's menu starts, innocently enough, with a parsnip and potato vichyssoise with escargot confit in duckfat. Then, things get alarming -- the next course is an herb and orchid flower salad with silkworms and mole crickets. Then come scallop and scorpion with cactus and prickly pair, followed by a calf's head, for the guests to share, with apples and Calvados; and then, a filet of colin (kind of like a pollack)

Lacrosse Pikesville alum Uhlfelder wins top IWLCA honor Occidental's Michele Uhlfelder (Pikesville) was named West Region Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association on Tuesday after building the Tigers into a national contender in just three years. Uhlfelder led Occidental to a 13-4 overall record, its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game and its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance in the program's third season.

Ever notice how late summer nights come alive with the chirps and rhythmic whirrs of crickets and katydids? Now, just by stepping outside and listening for a minute or two, you can help scientists understand more about nature's symphony, and the unseen insects making all that music. On Friday night, people all over the Baltimore-Washington area are invited to help with " Cricket Crawl 2012 ," the region's first sound-based census of crickets and katydids. It's so easy almost anyone can do it, and a scientist organizing it says the effort will provide valuable information about an underappreciated set of critters in our ecosystem.

Winfield has long been the home of successful football, basketball, baseball and softball recreation programs. In the past several weeks, though, another sport has joined the lineup, as cricket has come to Carroll County. The sport is starting to expand in the United States, and a new group of youth cricket players has begun instructional play at Mayeski Park in South Carroll on Saturday mornings and Wednesday nights. "This is the first time that cricket has been attempted in this area," said Jamie Harrison, founder and president of the U.S. Youth Cricket Association, a Glen Burnie-based organization that is working to promote the sport as a youth activity.

By Robert A. Erlandson and Robert A. Erlandson,Baltimore County Bureau of the Sun | July 22, 1991

The bowler's arm windmilled; the red ball rocketed toward the wicket on a spinning, rising bounce.But Bikram Johar stepped in and with a mighty swing "hit for six," driving the ball over the boundary to win the match for the Maryland Cricket Club against an outclassed Potomac Cricket Club, from Washington.For Dr. Johar, 25, a St. Agnes Hospital resident, clearing the boundary -- marked by yellow plastic bags fluttering on spikes -- on the fly was the equivalent of a baseball grand slam and counted for six runs.

Candlelight Concerts' Performing Arts Series for Children will present Cricket on the Hearth, a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic by Theater IV on Dec. 2 at Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. Performances are at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Theater IV is an acclaimed professional theater company dedicated to programming for youth. Sensitive, artistic playwriting; enthusiastic, young professional actors; and commitment to providing quality theater for children are qualities that Theater IV says it strives for. Tickets will be available at the theater, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia.

When Debbie Buenger, a former elementary school physical education teacher now at East Middle School in Westminster, introduced the game of cricket to her class one rainy afternoon last year, the excitement blew her away. "The kids absolutely loved it," Buenger said. Within the first hour, the class started to grasp the basics and was off playing its first competitive game. There were a few hitches, like remembering to hold onto the bat, but overall Buenger couldn't have been more surprised.

Jiminy Cricket, the name I've given a cricket that's taken up residence in our cellar, chirps throughout the day. But maybe Jiminy is bewildered, because only male crickets chirp, and their nighttime serenading is how female crickets find male crickets during the mating season. As far as I know, though, Jiminy is alone. So maybe he isn't confused. Perhaps he's just lonely. Harmless to humans, crickets are mostly nocturnal, omnivorous feeders, and although their diet includes plants, the damage crickets do to plants is insignificant.